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Madrid veteran to be honored with service medals

Staff Reports

Boone News-Republican

Gerald Eugene Carlson, a Madrid resident and Vietnam War veteran, will soon receive medals he is due from his time in the service.

Congressman Steve King announced Wednesday that he will be honoring Carlson with medals obtained by King’s office that Carlson did not previously receive for his service at a ceremony on Saturday, May 4, at 1 p.m. at the VFW Post, 229 South State St. in Madrid.

Carlson will receive the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal and the United Nations Service Medal.

Carlson was drafted into the United States Army in January 1951. On February 1st, 1951 he joined his fellow soldiers in Boone to board the bus that would take them to Fort Des Moines. From there, they traveled to Fort Riley Kansas and finally to the Atlanta General Depot. Carlson remembers that it was -20° when he boarded the bus. He completed 6 weeks of basic training in Atlanta and was then sent to Ft. Benning, GA to attend cooking school for 59 days. His wife, Lorna, joined him in Georgia and worked on the base until he was sent overseas. She then returned to Iowa.

Early in the summer of 1952 he shipped out from Oakland, CA to Tokyo, Japan where he spent the remainder of his stint during the Korean Conflict. He arrived at Camp Drake and was then sent to Hq & Hq Co. 71st Sig. Svc.-BN. He served there as a cook for the next six months. He and six other cooks fed approximately 50 men three meals a day. Upon completing his stint overseas, he returned to the U.S. Carlson was honorably discharged from the US Army upon completing his service at Camp Carson, CO on January 24, 1953.

Carlson made many friends during his time in the Army. He still has his half of a one-dollar bill that he and a friend split in case he sees him again. They met in later years and spoke fondly of the time they spent serving their country, sharing many fond memories about their experiences. After all these years he is honored and appreciative to finally receive the medals he earned during his service.